Limerick-based company acquired as multimillion euro deal is agreed by shareholders

SL Controls, the Limerick-based specialist software integration firm, has today been acquired by global service provider NNIT group. 

NNIT is one of Denmark’s largest IT operators with more than 3,000 employees worldwide and offices across Europe, North America and Asia. 

The NNIT Group is one of the foremost suppliers of IT services to the global life sciences industry and the acquisition of SL Controls will further strengthen NNIT’s solutions within Production IT and will open SL Controls up to new opportunities to continue its growth globally.

Established in 2002, SL Controls is an international provider of equipment system integrated solutions to a range of world-leading brands across a number of industries including Medtech, Pharma, Healthcare and Technology. 

The deal was completed earlier today and represents an enterprise value of €16.9 million which comprises an upfront payment of €12.7 million with an earn-out element of €4.2million. 

All SL Controls staff and management will remain in place and joining forces with NNIT will enhance the ambitious growth plans previously announced by SL Controls.

In March of this year, the company announced the creation of 50 new jobs in Ireland over 18 months to bring the total workforce to 140.

WATCH: Software integration firm to create new roles in Limerick

In addition to Limerick, the company has offices in Sligo, Dublin, Galway and Florida and has customers – mainly multinationals – in Ireland, across mainland Europe and the US.

It has experienced strong growth over recent years and is on track to meet target revenues in excess of €10m for 2021.

SL Controls was assisted during the acquisition by Deloitte Ireland, Philip Lee law firm and DFS&Co Accountants.

Commenting on the deal, SL Controls CEO and co-founder Keith Moran said:

“SL Controls is excited to join a company with a shared vision of excellence in service delivery in the life sciences industry. It’s an exciting time for SL Controls and its excellent staff who have supported the company’s growth over the last 19 years. Joining forces with NNIT will further enhance our service offering to meet our customers’ global requirements for fully integrated solutions across the Operational Technology and Information Technology layers."

Mr Moran added: “In the ever-evolving, fast-paced life sciences sector, digital transformation is critical in meeting our customers’ global supply demands for life-enhancing pharmaceutical and medical device products. Joining the NNIT group will allow us to continue our journey to further grow globally and to provide enhanced services to our clients and exciting career opportunities for our staff.”

Ricco Larsen, Senior VP of NNIT Life Sciences, added: “We are excited to welcome SL Controls and their unique experience and expert knowledge of life sciences manufacturing on board. The acquisition is yet another important milestone in our strategy to grow NNIT Life Sciences internationally. At the same time, we are delivering on our promise to further strengthen and grow our portfolio of IT services and solutions to the benefit of our customers. SL Controls will play an important role in securing our leading global position.

Commenting on the acquisition, Rasmus Nelund, Corporate VP of NNIT Life Sciences Customer Success, said: “We have already shown that we are able to successfully acquire IT companies within the life sciences segment and quickly leverage the joint synergies – in this case enriching our production IT and supply chain services and now offering end-to-end services.” 

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